Building element



Oct. 30 1923. 1,472,52l

M. NL HARRISON BUILDING ELEMENT Filed Aug. 26 1922 @11,1501 man- Patented Oct. 39, 1923.

MARION M. HARRISON, F AKRON,

PANY, OF AKRON,

OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE MILLER RUBBER GOM- OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

BUILDING ELEMENT.

Application led August 26, 1922. Serial No. 584,578.

To all whom t mayl concern.'

Be it known that I, MARION M. HARRISON,

a citizen of the United States, and resident of Akron, in the county of Summit and State ofv Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements 'in ,Building Elements, of which the following is a specification.

y present invention relates to a building element and more particularly to a tile which may be used for a floor, wall, or other purpose as desired.

The primary object of my invention is the provision of a tile made of rubber which will be cheap to manufacture, capable of carrying various designs and colors, which will be easy to apply and Vwhich will have maximum capacity for resisting wear.

Another object of my invention is the provision of such a tile which will be of such a composition as to be capable of being secured to a base by nails, which is desirable, yet which will not split or pull away from such fastening means.

Still another object is the provision of an interlocking feature which will allow for expansion and contraction without destroying the continuity of the surface composed of such elements.

To this end my invention includes a tile composed of two layers of material, the portion normally in contact with the base being of cellular hard rubber, to which is vulcanized a surface of heavily compounded 35 soft rubber, such as is used in the ordinary rubber tile.

The invention further particular arrangement of a grooved portion of the tile.

I have illustrated one embodiment of my invention in the drawings, which is merely for the purpose of illustration. in which Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of a tile constructed according to my invention.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the article of Fig. l.

Referring now more particularly to the embodiment illustrated, I have designated a tile as composed ofaportion 10 which may be composed of cellular hard rubber made in any approved manner, which will have a rigidness sufficient to prevent distortion includes the tongued and and which will be of a consistency to allow nails to penetrate the same without tearing. To this portion of the tile I may vulcanize a layer 11 composed of heavily compounded soft rubber which will have the desired` resiliency to absorb shocks and which mayl be colored, or carry any desired design. The configuration of the entire tile may be of any desired shape and may be of any size, preferably that of a polygon, in which case it has been found desirable to provide a plurality of these sides with a tongued portion and others with a grooved portion. The tongue may take the form of a projection 12, either extending the entire length of the side, or at spaced apart intervals, as desired.' The grooved portion may be merely a recess such as shown at 13 or of any other configuration, but preferably including a recess larger than the tongue 12 to allow expansion and contraction. The entire structure may be secured to the floor by a nail 14 penetrating the hard rubber portion, this portion being of suc-h a consistency that the rigidness thereof will lend itself to such a fastening means, much in the manner of a wooden structure.

It will thus be apparent .that such a construction may be used wherever a rubber tile is ordinarily desired, but which will have a construction which is highly desirable because of its lightness, its cheapness, its wear resisting qualities and the ease with which it may be 'attached to a base. The thickness of the two portions may vary according to existing conditions, and I therefore do not wish to be limited to any particular thickness.

When assembled the tongues 12-will fit within the grooves 13 ina manner to prevent displacement, and yet which will allow of the ordinary expansion and contraction which will take place.

What I claim is:

1. A building element having a portion thereof of hard sponge rubber.

2. The device of claim 1, said hard sponge rubber portion being the base, and an overlying layer of soft rubber vulcanized thereto.

In testimony whereof I alix mv signature.

MARION M. HARRISON. 

